SIA Victorian Safety Conference 2017

1. The past, present
and future of safety
professional
practice …
Safety Science Innovation Lab

2. Outline
Safety Science Innovation Lab
Past: Factors that shape safety professional practice
Present: Managing a safety mode of ‘control’
Future: Managing a safety mode of ‘adaptability’

3. Past: Factors that shape safety professional practice
Safety Science Innovation Lab
Source: Provan, D. J., Dekker, S. W., & Rae, A. J. (2017). Bureaucracy, influence and beliefs: A literature
review of the factors shaping the role of a safety professional. Safety science, 98, 98-112.

4. Present: Managing a safety mode of ‘control’
Safety Science Innovation Lab
Organisational
Capacities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Hazard analysis: Analysis of factors that could cause operations to become unsafe
Controls: Controls (physical and behavioral) are put in place to manage hazards
Monitoring: Control performance is informed by proactive and reactive information
Authority: Line management and safety professionals make safety decisions
Safety Culture: Leadership and front-line commitment to prioritise safety
Safety
Professional
Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Support the task based identification (i.e. take-5) and assessment (i.e. JSA) of hazards
Facilitate the identification and assessment of system level hazards (i.e. risk registers, HAZOP)
Develop controls for tasks (i.e. work at heights) and business processes (i.e. contractor management)
Monitor controls proactively (i.e. Assurance, behavioural observations) and reactively (i.e. Incident Investigation)
Provide safety incident and compliance reporting to line management
Support line management decision-making for safety and arbitrate between stakeholders
Promote an 'Authority to Stop Work' for safety across the frontline workforce
Develop and promote safety culture improvement programs
Source: Provan, D. J., Woods, D. W., Dekker, S. W., & Rae, A. J. (2017). Safety-II professionals: How new
theory might transform the safety advisor role. Manuscript under preparation.

5. Resilience Engineering
Safety-II
Safety Differently
Safety Science Innovation Lab

6. Future: Managing a safety mode of ‘adaptability’
Safety Science Innovation Lab
Organisational
Capacities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Synchronization: “Work as imagined” is aligned with “Work as done”
Autonomy: Decision-making is located close to the point of action
Porous Boundaries: Real time data flows freely within and between organisations
Anticipation: Future conditions and scenarios are anticipated
Slack: Flexible resources and slack are maintained in the organisation
Sacrifice Judgments: Safety is an important consideration in all decisions
Safety
Professional
Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Conduct appreciative inquiries into ‘Work as Done’, that narrows the gap to ‘Work as Imagined’
Support local practices and balancing the job demands of front line teams
Generate system wide action to reduce goal conflict between; production, cost and safety
Negotiate the acquisition and re-distribution of operational resources to dynamically balance front line demands
Facilitate the free-flow of data and information across organizational boundaries
Generate future operational scenarios through monitoring internal and external threats, and system vulnerabilities
Facilitate the making of sacrifice judgments for safety and widely communicate these stories
Facilitate learning processes from both daily organizational life as well as from unexpected events
Source: Provan, D. J., Woods, D. W., Dekker, S. W., & Rae, A. J. (2017). Safety-II professionals: How new
theory might transform the safety advisor role. Manuscript under preparation.

7. Questions
Safety Science Innovation Lab
Contact: david.provan@griffithuni.edu.au